Product Sourcing (Part 3)...

And now... part 3 of product sourcing. It looks like I will have 4 parts to this topic.

• Flea Markets - I have to admit that I LOVE flea markets. It always is a treasure hunt of what you will find there. Even if you don't always find the best deal, you will get a lot of ideas of what you can resell on ebay. Try to do a lot of research before you go to a flea market. Even if you buy blindly, you can be very pleasantly surprised when you list a flea market item on ebay. It isn't uncommon to buy an item for a few dollars, and have it sell for several hundreds.

• Go direct - This is what most sellers dream about. Find a product that you love, call the manufacturer (you can very easlly find that information, here's a tip, use Google to find the manufacturer. Give them a call, and explain that you want to sell their products, and ask them for a local distributor. Give the local distributor a call, and before you know you it, you will have an account set up with them to buy the merchandise that you want at wholesale prices.

• Garage sales - Start going to garage sales in your area. Go EARLY, as that is the key. I heard from one PowerSeller, if you show up when the sale starts, then you are late. Advantages, high profit margin. Disadvanges: You will get a limited supply of what you are looking for. Also, expect to spend some extra time to make the item look spectacular for resale.

• Traditional Auctions - There are a lot of auctions that you can attend and find merchandise for resale. Take a look at your Sunday paper, usually near the obitiary section. Attend a few, and you will probably find a couple of auctions that will have plenty of items that you can resell on ebay.

More product sourcing ideas tomorrow...

Your comments are welcome, so please feel free to write a comment. I as well as the rest of the ebay community want to hear what you have to say. Thanks! Steve

Product Sourcing (Part 2)...

And now, to continue my topic on Product Sourcing. As I said on part 1, product sources are EVERYWHERE. Just keep your eyes open and you will find them. Here are some of my favorites...

• Liquidation merchandise... There are many liquidators that you can find online. The one that seems to be the most popular is liquidation.com, it is run as an auction site similar to ebay, you place a bid on lots of merchandise, you pay, either by PayPal, Credit Card, or Wire Transfer if you win. Most auctions run for 5 days. Pros: You can get excellent deals. Cons: They have a lot of lots which are damaged, shipping is slow (expect to wait about at least 2 weeks to get the merchandise), they don't have a feedback system, so you really don't know who you are dealing with. If you are lucky, you can get a very good deal, but the bottom line is that you are gambling. Lots can run on the average $1,000-$3,000.

• Overstock merchandise ... overstock typically means that a retailer buys a lot of a product, finds that it doesn't move very well, and sells it to an overstock company at a discounted price. The most popular website for overstock merchandise is www.overstock.com. My opinion, is that I have not really found that prices that translate into a profit on ebay, everything that I have bought on overstock.com ended up losing money for me.

• Drop shippers ... an excellent source for drop shipping is www.worldwidebrands.com, which I frequently recommend. They offer a lifetime subscription to a list of drop shippers for about $70. This is an excellent source. They also offer a list of light bulk order suppliers who will sell you items in bulk, usually with a minimum order of less than $500. This list also costs about $70 for a lifetime subscription.

• Buy in bulk on ebay ... there are many ebay sellers that will sell in lots, cases, and pallets. Simply do a search on ebay for "Lot Of", "Case Of", or "Pallet Of". Many items can be bought from other sellers, and you can resell them on ebay. Stay away from popular items such as iPod, XBOX 360, etc., as many of the sellers who are selling lots of these items are actually accounts that have been taken over by crooks, who will not actually send you the products that you purchase.

More to come tomorrow....

Your comments are welcome, so please feel free to write a comment. I as well as the rest of the ebay community want to hear what you have to say. Thanks! Steve

Product Sourcing (Part 1)...

Here's the tip that everyone was waiting for, and I have so much to say about it, that it will be at least a two parter.

The question on every eBay sellers mind is where do I get product to sell on ebay? Here is the simple answer, EVERYWHERE!!! But I will do my best to break it down step by step. The technical term for this is "Product Sourcing".

Okay, you have gone through your house, and sold everything that you don't want. Then you go to garage sales, and that worked well for you, but now you are ready to go to the next level ... so, now what. You want to buy products wholesale and then resell them at a profit.

Rule #1 ... don't bother with going to the search engines looking for wholesalers. Here's a secret, wholesalers do not advertise on search engines. To learn why, I recommend that you download a FREE e-book that explains the entire wholesale buying process. You can find this ebook by clicking here. This information can be trusted. Most of the "wholesalers" that you find on search engines are really just middlemen who buy the product from the manufacturer and then bump up the cost to you.

Rule #2 ... keep your eyes open. Very often you can buy product from a retail source, and still make a profit on ebay. Do your market research to make sure the item you are interested in will actually make a profit. I subscribe to the sunday paper and check the flyers from retailers, and I can usually find at least 2 items that will do well on eBay. Of course, read the fine print, stay away from those items that require a rebate to get the published price, and notice any published limits.

Rule #3 ... get a seller's permit from your state. Most states collect sales tax, and if you have a sellers permit (also known as a resale certficate), it provides the following advantages. First, it keeps you legal with the tax man. Second, you can show your permit to any company, and you don't have to pay sales tax on the items that you buy. Third, and most importantly, it is a magic key that lets you into a true wholesaler, where you can actually get the bargains. A true wholesaler will require this certificate before they will sell items to you wholesale. This is the most important sheet of paper you can have as an eBay seller. The best part is that in most states this certificate is free. Simply do a search on your favorite search engine (I always recommend Google) and search for "resale certificate" along with your state. You will then be directed to the the organization to apply for your certificate.

Finding a wholesaler is a lot easier than most people think. Find a product that you want to resell. Find out who manufactures the product. Give them a call, ask for the sales department, and explain that you want to resell their products. You don't have to tell them that you are an eBay seller, simply say you are an online retailer. Ask them for sources where you can buy their products wholesale, unless they are a really small company, they sell their products to a wholesale company, and most of the time they will gladly provide that information to you. Then contact the wholesale companies that they provide to you, again explain to them that you want to sell their products. They will usually have you set up within days. They may ask for bank references, but don't let that worry you, simply let them know that you want to pay for your orders by credit card. Remember though, you will need that seller's permit that I discussed in Rule #3, so get that out of the way first and foremost.

There is so much more to discuss on this topic, and I will continue with part 2 tomorrow.

Your comments are welcome, so please feel free to write a comment. I as well as the rest of the ebay community want to hear what you have to say. Thanks! Steve

Market Research ...

This is an important one, folks. Before you buy anything to resell on ebay, take the time and research the item on ebay so that you can find out if the item is worth selling, as well as what you can expect to get from the sale.

Beginners usually do a search on ebay to see what the competitors are selling similiar products for. This doesn't really give you accurate numbers. There may be a lot of items listed, but the question is, do they actually sell, and if they do sell, what do they sell for?

Here's a better way. Do a search for the item you are considering. Then on the left side, there is a check box that says "Completed Items". Check that box, and do your search again. Then you will find on the top of the search results a drop down box that allows you to list the results by various methods. Select the option that says "Price: Highest First". Look for similiar items with the price in green. If the price is green, that means that the item sold. If the price is red, it means that the item did not sell. You will then have a good idea of what the selling price of your item should be.

If you see a lot of green, and the numbers are indicating that you can be profitable with the item, then you have a winner! Stock up, and get ready to start making sales!

It's very simple, however it took me months to learn this.

Your comments are welcome, so please feel free to write a comment. I as well as the rest of the ebay community want to hear what you have to say. Thanks! Steve

Protect your email address ...

eBay has made excellent progress in protecting sellers and buyers in regards to contact information. However, you still should take a few extra steps in keeping your email address from being too accessible to other members.

I learned this the hard way in the beginning. I thought the best approach was to have my email address available in my listings, so I could provide better customer service. Within hours I was flooded with spoof emails that looked like correspondence from eBay as well as PayPal. You know the ones, they say "We are having security issues with your account, and you will need to click this link to verify your account. If we don't hear from you, your account is subject to supension." Thankfully, I was knowledgable about spoof emails, and knew enough not to click any link in these spoof emails. I had to change my email address, and since then I haven't had any further problems. My advice is, any email that you get from eBay or PayPal, simply delete it. If you feel that there may be a legitimate issue with your account, then log into your account using your web browser. If there really is an issue, then you will find an alert in your MyMessages on eBay. Those messages can be trusted.

Another approach that these people will try, and this one is more subtle. People will contact you with a question regarding an item that you sell. Make sure that you click the box that says "Hide my email address". Make sure that you don't supply your email until you have a completed transaction, or until you feel that you can trust the person who is sending you a question.

A third approach is someone will bid on your item, and then retract their bid. Apparently there is a way that someone can get your email address simply by bidding on your item. I don't know how this is done, but the folks at eBay are recognizing this as a security issue that they are working on.

Your comments are welcome, so please feel free to write a comment. I as well as the rest of the ebay community want to hear what you have to say. Thanks! Steve

Finding the Magic Bullet ...

A lot of sellers are looking for that magic bullet, you know the one ... the item that sells every 30 minutes, at a profit margin of 100% or more.

It does happen ... but it is very rare. I have been very lucky to have it happen to me 3 times this year. I have learned that this is a 'gift from the gods', and not something that you can depend on. Profit margins on commodities (not antiques, or collectables) are notoriously low on eBay. If I make a dollar or two on items that I sell, then I am thankful. It does adds up. Then when the lighting strikes on a item, then I buy as many as I possibly can. I remember one of my magic bullets, that I bought from a retail chain. They were so helpful that they had every store in the country ship every item that they had to me. I started out buying 2 at first, and ended up buying 74 before it was all said and done. Even with the shipping charges I was able to make more than 100% profit, and they sold FAST!

The best approach is find the deals when you can, but more importantly find quality products and have a variety of them available for sale. I find that they do sell eventually. Look at it this way, go to any retailer (such as Wal-Mart, Circuit City, Macy's, etc.) and look for their magic bullets. You will probably notice that they don't have a lot of them. They depend on selling 1 of this, and 1 of that. This is the same way that I approach my eBay business.

Too many sellers are so focused on finding those magic bullets that they lose focus on finding the steady items that sell.

Your comments are welcome, so please feel free to write a comment. I as well as the rest of the ebay community want to hear what you have to say. Thanks! Steve

What to sell ...

A common question that ebay sellers have is "what do I sell on eBay". With few exceptions, the answer is anything that you want.

If you are just starting out as a seller, I recommend that you hunt around your house, for items that you have no financial or emotional attachment to. Something that you don't care if you only sell it for a penny or two. The goal at this point is just to get your feet wet, learn the selling process, and build your feedback score.

After you are comfortable with selling, and have a few sales under your belt, then start investing in merchandise. The next step that most buyers take is that they go to the goodwill, thrift shops, and garage sales. Get a good deal, and then try selling these items on eBay.

After a while, you may find that you want to sell new merchandise like a brick and mortar store. The trick with this is finding a reliable source for merchandise, which I will be addressing in a future tip. You can either set up arrangments with a wholesaler to drop ship the merchandise to your customers, or you can purchase product in bulk and ship it yourself. There are advantages and disadvantages to both approaches. If you choose drop shipping, you won't need to fork out a lot of money to purchase items, but your purchase price will be higher, and if you have a problem with your wholesaler, your eBay reputation will be at jeopardy. If you choose to purchase items in bulk, your cost will be lower, you will need to have room to stock your product, however you will be in control of the shipping process. I personally have chosen a mix of both methods.

At first, sell what you are familiar with, that way you know what the product is about, and you will be able to answer any question that a potential buyer has. After a while, branch out of your comfort zone, and learn about other products. Never be afraid to learn, sure you will make a few mistakes, but it will help you grow, plus you very likely will discover products that you may have initially overlooked, which may end up being very profitable.

No matter what path you end up taking, get SELLING, and if you haven't started yet, don't worry about making a few mistakes here and there. Don't over analyze the process, JUST DO IT!

Your comments are welcome, so please feel free to write a comment. I as well as the rest of the ebay community want to hear what you have to say. Thanks! Steve

Titles that sell ...

When you list an item for sale, it is very important to make sure that the title is well written. In fact, I feel that this is much more important than your description. Many buyers are searching for items rather than just browsing descriptions.

A title doesn't necessarily need to make sense, it just needs to be loaded with relevent keywords that will draw buyers to your listings. You are limited to 55 characters on eBay for your keywords, so make every word count.

Avoid using unnecessary words in your title such as "NICE" or one of the most common words "L@@K". Nobody is going to search for what they are looking for with those words. One excmption to this is the word "NEW", as that will give the buyer information to the condition of the item.

Here is an example of a good title if you are listing the DVD Comedy "9 to 5" starring Dolly Parton, Lily Tomin and Jane Fonda ... "NEW 9 to 5 DVD Comedy Parton Tomin Fonda". Use as many of the 55 characters as possible. You don't necessarily need to use punctuation either.

If your item has common mispellings, put those in as well. For example, I sell blank DVD discs. Whenever possible, I will include the words "discs" as well as "disks" in my titles. Grey and Gray is another good example of this.

Also, avoid writing your entire title in all capital letters. It is very hard for most people to read. Only capitalize the most important words in the title.

Your comments are welcome, so please feel free to write a comment. I as well as the rest of the ebay community want to hear what you have to say. Thanks! Steve